Railway engineering
{{short description|Study of engineering principles necessary for railway construction and operation}}
{{unreferenced|date = March 2020}}
{{redirect|Railway engineer|the person who drives a train|Train driver}}
Railway engineering is a multi-faceted engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction and operation of all types of rail transport systems. It encompasses a wide range of engineering disciplines, including civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering and production engineering. A great many other engineering sub-disciplines are also called upon.
History
With the advent of the railways in the early nineteenth century, a need arose for a specialized group of engineers capable of dealing with the unique problems associated with railway engineering. As the railways expanded and became a major economic force, a great many engineers became involved in the field, probably the most notable in Britain being Richard Trevithick, George Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Today, railway systems engineering continues to be a vibrant field of engineering.
Subfields
- Mechanical engineering
- Command, control & railway signalling
- Office systems design
- Data center design
- SCADA
- Network design
- Electrical engineering
- Energy electrification
- Third rail
- Fourth rail
- Overhead contact system
- Civil engineering
- Permanent way engineering
- Light rail systems
- On-track plant
- Rail systems integration
- Train control systems
- Cab signalling
- Railway vehicle engineering
- Rolling resistance
- Curve resistance
- Wheel–rail interface
- Hunting oscillation
- Railway systems engineering
- Railway signalling
- Fare collection
- CCTV
- Public address
- Intrusion detection
- Access control
- Systems integration
Professional organisations
- In the UK: The Railway Division of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).
- In the US: The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA)
- In the Philippines: Philippine Railway Engineers' Association, (PREA) Inc.
- Worldwide: The Institute of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE)
See also
External links
- [http://www.imeche.org/knowledge/industries/railway/overview Institution of Mechanical Engineers - Railway Division]
- [http://www.aar.org/ AAR]
References
{{Clear}}
{{Engineering fields}}
{{Rail tracks}}
{{Railway track layouts}}
{{Authority control}}
Category: Engineering disciplines
Category:Transportation engineering
{{Rail-transport-stub}}
{{Engineering-stub}}